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A Practii; 

he Cultivation of Flowers, Fruits | 
and Vegetables I 
giawol'? aril |noraB IbiO 



Dial among the Flowers 



EVERY DAY 
MY GARDEN 



A Practical Guide for 
The Cultivation of Flowers, Fruits 
and Vegetables 

BY 

VIRGINIA E. VERPLANCK 




New York 
WILLIAM R. JENKINS COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 
Sixth Avenue at 48th Street 



Copyright, 1913 
By Virginia E. Verpi^anck 

All Rights Reserved 



printed by the 
Press of Wii.i.iam R. Jenkins Company 
New York 




©CI.A350148 



A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot ! 

Rose plot, 

Fringed pool, 

FernM grot : 

The veriest school 
Of Peace ; and yet the fool 

Contends that God is not. 
Not God ! in gardens ! when the eve is cool ? 

Nay, but I have a sign ; 

'Tis very sure God walks in mine. 

Thomas Edward Brown, 



iii 



PREFACE 



'T^HE dates given in this book cannot in 
some instances be followed strictly, be- 
cause seasons vary in different localities and it 
may be necessary to advance or retard the time 
for planting and for the application of fer- 
tilizers. Then, too, other work may press 
and one may not be able to carry out the dir- 
ections on the exact dates suggested. 

In a general way it may be said that these 
dates have been found practicable in the lati- 
tude of eastern New York, including the lower 
and central Hudson valley, Connecticut and 
north Long Island. For northern New Jersey 
and the south shore of Long Island, about a 
week earlier would probably be the best time 
to do the work ; while for Pennsylvania and 
points further south a still earlier period may 
be chosen. For northern New York, north- 
ern Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts 
and the north shore of Long Island, about 



vi 



Preface 



two weeks later would be found to be the 
proper season. 

With the turning of each leaf a plan for 
the work of one week is disclosed, Sunday 
excepted. Three days are given on each page 
and ample space is allowed for additional 
notes for special needs. Used systematically 
the book will become a useful and perpetual 
guide and an indispensable hand-book for 
every day in the garden. 

VIRGINIA E. VERPLANCK. 



Mt. Gulian, Fishkill-on-Hudson, N. Y. 



CONTENTS 



Introduction xi 
January ........ 3 

List of Vegetable Seeds ..... 3 

List of Flower Seeds ...... 5 

February ........ 9 

March 23 

April 37 

May 51 

June . . . . . . . . .65 

July 79 

August 93 

September ........ 107 

October ........ 121 

November 135 

December ....... 149 

Preparation of Soils . . . . . .153 

Soils for Flats .155 

Fertilizers and Insecticides . . . . .156 
Tools and Implements . . . . .165 
Mignonette Tree . . . . . .167 



vii 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



I. Sun Dial among the Flowers . 


^Frontispiece v 


II. Winter 


6 ^ 


III. Spring Blossoms 


. 34 ^ 


IV. Locust Trees in Flower . 


. . 48 ' 


V. Box Border, Peonies and Magnolia 


. 62 1/ 


VI. A Garden Corner 


. 76 



VIL A Woodland Stream .... 90 
VIII. Autumn in the Garden . . . .118 
IX. Bare Locust Trees. Wistaria and Honey- 
suckle in full Leaf . . . .132 
X. Map of a Garden 174 



viii 



INTRODUCTION 



\yl rHEN the trees are leafless, and growing 
things are sleeping in that state which 
seems like death, then memory brings to mind 
the beauty of the summer and a longing for 
its joys. May not this be a reason to browse 
in the library and hunt for garden lore ? Take 
down Bacon's Essays and read his quaint des- 
cription of how a garden should be made. 
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is full of the 
joy and beauty of life in a garden, and his 
commentator, Richard Le Gallienne, has 
much to say of gardens. Among the old 
English writers, Edmund Spenser, Joseph 
Addison, John Milton, William Wordsworth, 
John Ruskin and many others love to dis- 
course on the life in gardens and the profits 
to be gained thereby. 

Nor are we without writers of our own. 
Alice Morse Earle, with her charming book 



X 



Introduction 



on old-time gardens, is full of love of all that is 
precious and sweet in the stirring lives of our 
grandmothers in the early colonial times; 
Edith Wharton's description of Italian gar- 
dens has made familiar ground of those 
historic plaisances; w^hile the books of Helena 
Rutherford Ely on garden work have become 
a household necessity. 

Besides the books in the library, the many 
garden periodicals will be found to be full of 
interest and help in garden work. 

In 1850 Andrew Jackson Downing 
brought out his book on ''The Fruits and 
Fruit-trees of America", which has since run 
through more than twenty editions and is 
to-day the highest authority on these subjects. 
For a practical handbook containing a great 
deal of reliable information, "A Garden 
Primer" by G. Tabor and G. C. Teall has 
received the praise of both adepts and novices 
in garden building. 

Believing that the garden lover will be 
aided in having presented to him in a compact 
form a digest or summary of the literature of 



Introduction 



xi 



gardens, 1 have essayed to lay before him this 
calendar. 

In the use of it the following suggestions 
are oflFered : 

By cultivation is meant stirring the ground 
about the plants. This should be done fre- 
quently and always before applying fertilizers. 
During a drought, cultivation is better than 
watering. The soil becomes hard about the 
plants, and capillary attraction draws the 
moisture from the roots ; but when the ground 
is broken by cultivation, the moisture in the 
air is able to reach the roots and sustain the 
plants. 

Wood ashes is one of the most essential 
materials to use in the care of young plants. 
It keeps away the cut worm and many other 
pests, and it adds a valuable ingredient (pot- 
ash) to the soil. 

The use of nitrate-of-soda will be found 
valuable in a dry season. Should there be 
plentiful rains, it should be used but once a 
month; and a period of two or three days 
without rain should precede the application 
of the nitrate. A long handled iron spoon 



Xll 



Introduction 



will be found to be an excellent tool for put- 
ting on wood ashes and bone meal. 

Shrubs, vines and plants which lose their 
leavesj either from being injured by a severe 
winter or a drought, or attacks by insects, 
may quickly send out new leaves by applica- 
tions of bordeaux-mixture, applied twice at 
ten days intervals. Use half a gallon of 
bordeaux-mixture to five gallons of water. 

To economize space in the garden, the 
successive crops should be considered. It is 
possible to raise two crops in one vegetable 
bed in a season. The beds where the early 
Beets, Carrots, Onions, Beans and Peas have 
been growing can be cleared out, and after 
a light dressing of manure thrown on and 
well dug in, the ground is ready for the win- 
ter Cauliflower, Cabbage and Brussels Sprouts. 
But the same vegetable should not be planted 
twice in succession in a bed. Thus the bed 
where early Peas have been growing should 
not be planted with late Peas, but with some 
other vegetable. Corn can be planted be- 
tween the potato rows, after the last hilling 
has been done. This method saves labor and 



Introduction 



xiii 



fertilizing, as that which is done in the first 
week in April for the Potatoes will be suffi- 
cient for the growth of the Corn. 

All spring planting of trees, shrubs, vines 
and berries, including Strawberries, can be 
done from the time the frost is out of the 
ground (about April 15th) until the end of 
May. It is desirable to plant as early as 
possible. There is a difference of opinion 
about spring and fall planting. If a tree is 
planted in the fall it gets hold of the ground 
and makes roots, so that with the first warm 
weather of spring it begins to grow in its new 
surroundings, and has a very happy history. 
But there is a great danger of its being win- 
ter killed, especially as it does not always take 
hold in the fall. The great advantage of 
spring planting is that this risk is avoided. 
The only disadvantage is that a tree planted 
in April is checked in its growth and loses 
time in its struggle to take root in the new 
position. 

The situation of the orchard is very im- 
portant. Fruit trees are very much injured 
by having the flow of sap started too early. 



XIV 



Introduction 



Warm weather in February and March starts 
the sap flowing and causes the buds to swell. 
Then follows a cold snap, the buds are killed 
and there will be no fruit that season. If the 
orchard has an exposed position and slopes to 
the north, the sap will not begin to flow 
until real spring weather sets in. It is espec- 
ially important for Peach trees to have this 
cold exposure, for the sap starts more easily 
with them than with any other fruit. 

To plant a tree, dig a hole in well prepared 
ground, no deeper than the length of the roots, 
and pour in some water. The roots should 
be arranged carefully before planting. They 
should be spread out so the soil can cover 
them naturally, and they should not be in a 
mass. If there is a "tap root," great care 
should be taken not to break it. It is some- 
times very long and straight and grows from 
the bottom of the clump of roots. It should 
be planted perfectly straight. A suitable hole 
for the tap root can be made with a crowbar. 
One man should hold the tree in an upright 
position in the hole and shake it gently up 
and down, while another man throws soil in 



Introduction 



XV 



lightly, so that it will settle all about the roots 
and small fibres. When the hole is full one 
man should tread with all his weight around 
the trunk to stamp the soil well down. More 
soil should then be added and water poured 
on ; one pailful is enough for a small tree. 
The water soaks the soil into the roots. More 
soil should be heaped on and stamped down 
to make it all compact around the roots, for 
if air spaces are left the tree will not thrive. 
Mr. Samuel Parsons, Jr., the expert on land- 
scape gardening in New York City, gives 
such directions, and he adds that if they are 
faithfully followed the tree will surely live. 
These same rules can be followed in planting 
shrubs. Rose bushes and vines. 

A Cherry tree should have the soil heaped 
up about its base so that the rain will run off. 
Water standing around the base of a cherry 
tree kills it. 

The second season of trees, shrubs and 
ferns which have been newly planted is the 
period of danger. They should be watered 
during dry weather. After this care they 



XVI 



Introduction 



should be established and should require no 
further attention. 

To improve a piece of ground, plant Crim- 
son Clover. It cultivates the soil and kills 
many harmful v^eeds. At any convenient time 
between the middle of June and the 1st of 
July the Clover can be planted. Prepare the 
ground by taking out the previous crop and 
breaking up the soil, then sow the Crimson 
Clover seeds broadcast. Let it grow undis- 
turbed all summer. The next June when the 
clover is in bloom plough it in. When the 
plants are well rotted into the soil the ground 
is ready for planting. This decayed clover 
makes the best kind of fertilizer. The process 
takes one year, but it is well worth the 
waiting. 

In planting strawberries care should be 
taken to secure the right proportion of sta- 
minate and pistillate plants. If this is ob- 
served a greater yield and finer fruit will 
result. The nurseryman will guide you in 
this respect. 

In planting an asparagus bed, a well 
drained and sandy soil should be chosen. 



Introduction 



xvii 



Make trenches three feet apart and from six- 
teen to twenty inches deep and ten inches 
wide. Place six to eight inches well rotted 
manure in the trench and tramp it down ; 
cover this with an equal amount of soil. Set 
the crowns of asparagus plants one foot apart 
in this soil, then fill in with soil to about six 
inches from the surface. As the stalks appear 
sprinkle nitrate of soda lightly over the sur- 
face, and gradually add soil as the growth 
increases until the trench is level with the 
ground. In the autumn, cover the bed with 
a good coating of manure. In the spring, 
dig this in, apply nitrate of soda at the same 
time, strewing it on the ground, a half trowel- 
ful to each plant. 

Garden beds should have an ornamental 
edging or border. The king of edges is, of 
course, the box, but this plant is very difficult 
to grow. What winter does not kill, drought 
usually finishes. Moreover, it is costly. The 
box in our garden is over a century old. It 
is rapidly disappearing in spite of all the care 
we have given it. 

We are replacing it with euonymus, which 



xviii 



Introduction 



is evergreen. It grows to be a fine border in 
three years, requiring clipping twice each 
season. These cuttings can be set in flats of 
wet sand, and in five weeks they will become 
rooted plants ready to set out in the borders. 
To prepare the euonymus for planting, cut the 
woody piece five inches long and prune off 
the two lower sets of leaves. Stick these ends 
into the wet sand and press them firmly down, 
so that no air can reach the stems. 

Another edge can be made of grass sod. 
six to eight inches wide, kept trimmed. 
This makes a very neat border. Dwarf 
Japanese Berberies is another excellent edging. 
It is better adapted to large garden plots, as 
its growth is higher and heavier than either 
box or euonymus. Berberies shed leaves, 
while the two others are evergreen. 

In old fashion gardens an edging made of 
narrow stripes of wood was used, giving a 
neat appearance. Its use has been revived. 
Bricks, too, are used for this purpose. 

When grass will not grow under trees 
Periwinkle or Myrtle will be found a good 
covering. Another excellent one is Pachy- 



Introductmi 



XIX 



Sandra Terminalis, —for which there is no com- 
mon name. This is a low Japanese evergreen. 

Plant Sweet Peas twelve to eighteen 
inches deep to insure long deep roots which 
will withstand the dry weather. 

Watering in the summer should be done 
after sun-down. In a drought do not water 
small plants or sweet peas with vv^ell water 
or that from a spring. Weakened by the dry 
weather, the plants die under the shock of 
cold water. 

The old fashion June Roses in our garden 
are over one hundred years old. They thrive 
and love the place, some bushes growing to 
seven feet in height and twenty-three feet in 
circumference. 

A clever sister-in-law who has very fine 
Roses has given me these simple directions for 
the care of Hybrid Perpetual and Tea Roses. 
By repeating them here I hope that everyone 
will have as beautiful Roses — large Frau Karl 
Druschkis, five inches across, pure white and 
pearly, lovely pink Killarneys in great quan- 
tities and abundance of all their beautiful 
sisters. 



XX 



Introduction 



Give attention to the pruning of Roses in 
April and the spraying as directed for the work 
in that month, carefully following the rules 
for enrichment. 

During the summer keep a cool mulch 
about the roots of the roses ; grass clippings 
are an excellent mulch ; water frequently. 
If manure and wood ashes are put on in the 
middle of April and manure in the early part 
of August, and frequent spraying with Ham- 
mond's Slug Shot, then the roses will bloom 
freely with large and beautiful blossoms. 

After a rain it is an excellent thing to 
sprinkle the rose bushes with the dry powdered 
slug shot. Don't wait for the bugs to appear ; 
use the sprays in anticipation. The early 
spraying in April kills the little eggs in the 
bark, the soot kills the small insects in the 
ground as they crawl up to begin their ne- 
farious work. 

It must be borne in mind that the roses 
rest after blooming in June until well on in 
August. It is for autumn blooming that 
these directions are given, and they should 
be followed for Hybrid Perpetual and Tea 



Introduction 



XXI 



Roses while the June roses are allowed to 
rest. 

Lily bulbs can be planted in the spring if 
set out very early. They require a light rich 
soil, rather moist, in a location well drained 
and partly shaded. As soon as they have 
grown two or three inches, mulch them with 
well rotted manure two inches deep ana 
a light litter. Plant the bulbs six inches deep, 
first placing a handful of sand in each hole 
and covering each bulb with sand, so that no 
manure may touch it. 

Among the Lilium family these hardy 
and beautiful lilies should be mentioned : 
there is a new variety called Henryi, a deep 
yellow with green stripes; very hardy; then 
the lovely pink Japonicum, Roseum and Mel- 
pomene; the Madonna Lily, Candidum and, 
finest of all, the i\uratum, the golden banded. 
In our climate, unfortunately, this latter 
variety dies after two or three years, but the 
Auratum is so beautiful that it pays to pur- 
chase it again and again. 

No lily collection would be complete with- 
out the Tiger lily varieties. The large one 



xxii 



Introduction 



with buds about four inches long is called 
Lilium Tigrinum Splendens ; if planted with 
the common kind, or Lilium Tigrinum and 
Tennifoliuniy together with a few Maculatum^ 
this combination would produce a very fine 
effect in July. All these varieties form black 
seeds at the base of their leaves. When they 
are ripe drop them into holes two inches deep ; 
they will mature and bloom in two years. 

Hemerocallis is the family name of the 
familiar Lemon lily or French lily. This 
family really is not a lily, but has a root more 
nearly allied to the Iris. The Lemon lily is 
called Flava^ the late blooming variety, 
Thunbergii and the well known farm house 
lily, Fulva. 

In the catalog many others may be se- 
lected. Frederick H. Hosford, of Charlotte, 
Vermont, makes a specialty of the lilies I have 
mentioned. 

The charming little Spanish Iris should 
be in every garden. One hundred can be 
bought for fifty cents. Planted in the fall, 
they all come up the following spring and 
bloom early in June ; but alas, the next spring 



Introduction 



XXlll 



only a few arrive. For this reason it is best 
to buy at least a hundred every autumn. 

Lilies-of-the- Valley can be planted in the 
fall. They grow well about the roots of 
trees. 

Cosmos is a valuable element in the garden 
landscape. I would almost say that I cannot 
keep a garden without it. The little plants 
of this flower from the nursery bed can be 
put in their permanent place at the end of 
May. By August they will have grown large 
and strong. If well staked they do not break 
or look untidy, as they will do if left alone. 
The bright green foliage gives a freshness to 
the whole garaen when the rose leaves have 
become brown and rusty and the Holly- 
hocks are cut down and many other flowers 
are past. If planted in borders behind an- 
nuals, Cosmos makes a splendid background. 
The blossoms come very late and an early 
frost is sure to ruin them. For this reason 
many people have banished Cosmos from 
their gardens. Still, though it fails to bloom, 
the beautiful feathery green foliage, which 
lasts from August to October, is of inesti- 



XXIV 



httroduction 



mable value. This flower in bloom is one of 
the finest sights in the garden. The plants 
are from five to six feet in height, covered 
with white blossoms three to four inches in 
diameter. Looking across the garden from 
the house, they seem to me to be a company 
of spirits. 

An important feature of the fall garden is 
the hardy Chrysanthemum that should be 
planted in masses about the garden. When 
frost has destroyed all the annuals, one turns 
with great content to enjoy the brilliant colors 
of this last flower of the season. 

In this spirit of content one would do well 
to plan one's life in accord with this old 
saying : 

If thou of fortune be bereft, 
And in thy store there be but left 
Two loaves, sell one, and with the dole 
Buy hayacinths to feed thy soul. 



A complete list of Soils ^ Fertilisers 
and Insecticides will be found in the 
back of the Calendar. This list is 
numbered so that easy reference can be 
made to it. 



God Almightie first Planted a Garden; and 
indeed it is the Purest of Flumane pleasures ; 
it is the Greatest Refreshment to the Spirits 
of Man, without which Buildings and Pallaces 
are but Grosse Handy- works. — Francis Eaco?t. 



JANUARY 



Seed lists should now be looked oven For a 
garden of four acres, planted with fruit trees, 
flowers and vegetables, the following lists have 
been found useful and effective. 

The following vegetable seeds frequently have 
furnished a family of four, two servants, 
and a gardener's family of five with great 
abundance. 



3 qts. 1 pt. String Beans, Extra Early Refugee- - ^0.62 

1 qt. 1 pt. String Beans, Golden Wax Improved - .45 

1 qt. Lima Beans, King of the Garden - - - - .35 

1 qt. Lima Beans, Siebert' s Early _ _ _ _ _ .35 

1-4 lb. Beets, Egyptian -------- - .50 

1 oz. Brussels Sprouts, Improved Half Dwarf - - .20 

1 pkt. Carrots, Early Round Parisian - - - - .05 

1-4 lb. Carrots, Half Long Stump-rooted - - - .80 

1 pkt. Cabbage, Early Spring ------- .05 

1 oz. Cabbage, Succession Improved _ _ - .25 

1 pkt. Cabbage, Extra Early Jersey Wakefield - - .05 

1 pkt. Cabbage, Red Stonehead ------ .05 

1 pkt. Cauliflower, Large Early Snowball - - - .25 

1 pkt. Cauliflower, Thorburn Gilt-edge _ - - .25 

1-2 oz. Celery, Boston Market ------ .10 

1 oz. Celery, Perfection Heartwell - - -• - - .20 

1 pt. Corn, Early Cory .15 

1 qt. Corn, Minnesota - - .30 

3 



4 



Every Day in My Garden 



1 qt. Corn, Early Evergreen .35 

1 pt. Corn, Shoepeg - .15 

1 qt. Corn, Country Gentleman ------ .35 

1 pkt. Cucumber, Early Short Green - - - - .05 

1 oz. Cucumber, Long Green .10 

1 pkt. Egg-plant, Improved New York Spineless - . 10 

1 pkt. Lettuce, Big Boston .05 

1 pkt. Lettuce, Golden Queen .05 

1 pkt. Lettuce, Salamander - - .05 

1 pkt. Lettuce, Golden Yellow Cos .10 

1 pkt. Musk Melon, Long Island Beauty - - - .05 

1 pkt. Musk Melon, Orange Christina - - - - .05 

2 oz. Onion, White, Large Globe ----- .75 
2 oz. Onion, Yellow Danvers .40 

2 qts. Onion Sets, White .50 

3 oz. Okra, Long Green .20 

1 oz. Parsnips, Maltese .10 

1 oz. Parsley, Moss Curled - .10 

1 oz. Parsley, Fern Leaved - .10 

2 qts. Peas, Alaska - - .50 

3 qts. Peas, American Wonder ------ .gQ 

2 qts. Peas, McClean's Advancer .60 

2 qts. Peas, Shropshire Hero - -- -- -- .60 

1 pkt. Pumpkin Cheese .05 

1 oz. Pepper Bell ----- .20 

1-2 oz. Pepper, Sweet Mountain ------ .15 

1-4 lb. Radish, French Breakfast - ----- .20 

1 oz. Radish, Long Scarlet, Short Top - - - - .10 

3 oz. Salsify Mammoth, Sandwich Island - - - .40 

1 lb. Spinach, Long Standing ------- .25 

2 oz. Squash, Summer Crookneck .20 

2 oz. Squash, Winter Crookneck .20 

1-2 oz. Tomato, Acme -10 

1 pkt. Tomato, Ponderosa .10 

1-2 oz. Tomato, Stone .15 

1-4 lb. Turnip, White Egg - .20 



^12.47 



J actuary 5 



This flower seed list has been found to pro- 
duce a succession of beautiful flowers. 

1 pkg. Bluets 10 

3 pkgs. Asters 3Q 

2 oz. Alyssum, Carpet of Snow ------ .55 

2 pkts. Calendula ---------- .10 

2 pkts. Coreopsis - ,10 

2 pkts. Canterbury Bells -------- .10 

2 pkts. Cosmos - -- -- -- -- -- .10 

1 pkt. Dahlia, single- --------- .15 

1 pkt. Dianthus ----- .15 

1 pkt. Forget-me-nots .10 

1 pkt. Larkspur .15 

1 pkt. Marigold, Tall African (orange) - - - _ .05 

1 pkt. Marigold, Tall Afi-iean (lemon) - - - - .05 

2 pkts. Marigold, Dwarf Mixed French - - - - .10 

1 pkt. Mignonette - - - - . .25 

1-2 lb. Nasturtium, Dwarf Mixed- ----- .40 

1-4 lb. Nasturtium, Tall Mixed ------ .25 

1 pkt. Nicotiana - 10 

1 pkt. Nigella-Love-in-a-Mist - ------ .10 

2 pkts. Pansies - -- -- -- -- -- .50 

1 pkt. Petunia- ----------- .25 

1 pkt. Poppies - - .10 

1 pkt. Salpiglossis - - - .15 

1 pkg. Schizanthus 10 

2 pkts. Snapdragon - .40 

2 pkts. Stock - .20 

1 lb. Sweet Peas 55 

1 pkt. Verbena .10 

2 pkts. Zinia ------------ .15 

^5.90 



6 Every Day in My Garden 



NOTES 



i 



Winter 



ii 



I doe hold it, in the Royall ordering of Gar- 
dens, there ought to be Gardens for ale the 
Moneths in the Yeare: In which severally 
Things of Beautie may be there in Season. 

Francis Bacon, 



7 



FEBP.UARY 

FIRST DAY 

Prune Apple and other fruit trees. Cut off 
all last year's growth and suckers. Cut the 
main center branches so that the sun and air 
will reach all the lateral branches. Scrape 
the bark, thus killing the insects and their 
eggs. 

SECOND DAY 



THIRD DAY 



Continue pruning Apple trees. 



10 



Every Day in My Garden 



FOURTH DAY 

Prune Pear trees and scrape the bark. 



FIFTH DAY 



SIXTH DAY 

Prune Cherry trees, 
about the base of the 
runs down between 
tree rots and dies. 



Keep the soil heaped 
trees. If the moisture 
the bark and soil, the 



February 1 1 



SEVENTH DAY 



EIGHTH DAY 



NINTH DAY 



12 



Every Day in My Garden 



TENTH DAY 

Prune Peach trees. 



ELEVENTH DAY 

Cut the Grapevines back to two or three eyes. 
Pick off the loose skin and expose eggs of 
spiders and other insects. Tie up the vines. 



TWELFTH DAY 

If you want the Grapevines for a cover on a 
treUis, leave the main stem, tying it to the 
trellis, and cut off all side shoots. 



February 



13 



THIRTEENTH DAY 

Trim Honeysuckle. Cut off all growth ex- 
cept the main stem. This keeps a healthy- 
growth and obviates a mass of dead stems. 



FOURTEENTH DAY 

Trim other vines. 



FIFTEENTH DAY 



Go over shrubs and cut out old wood, leaving 
all two or three years' growth. 



14 



Every Day in My Garden 



SIXTEENTH DAY 

Prepare the flats, which are shallow boxes in 
which the seeds are to be planted. Brush 
them out and make new ones if necessary. 
To do this, take half inch stuff of any kind 
of wood. Make them three feet long, one 
foot wide and three inches high. Cut eight 
holes one inch in diameter in the bottom and 
place bits of broken pots over each hole for 
drainage. 

SEVENTEENTH DAY 



EIGHTEENTH DAY 

Get the soil ready for the flats, Nos. 9 and 10, 
as described in the list at the end. Plant let- 
tuce seed. 



February 



15 



NINETEENTH DAY 

Put the soil in flats and pour boiling water 
over it. Or bake the soil, an equally good 
method to kill seeds of weeds. 



TWENTIETH DAY 

Pack the soil down well, and draw a shingle 
over the surface to ensure its being close and 
firm. 



TWENTY-FIRST DAY 

Prepare the hot-beds (which should have a 
warm southern exposure), backed against a 
building or fence, leaving an intervening 
space to walk in. Good dimensions are three 
feet wide, four feet deep, and as long as re- 
quired. They should be lined with brick to 
keep out moles and mice, and have an earth 
bottom. 



16 Every Day m My Garde7t 



TWENTY-SECOND DAY 

For filling a hot-bed, take one part rotten 
straw stable bedding to one part very fresh 
horse manure. Mix well, and fill to the top. 
Put on the glass frames and leave two dax^s 
or until the temperature has risen to 100 deg. 
F. Then tramp down the surface about one 
foot and put on six inches of soil. For 
flowers use Direction No. 9 ; for vegetables, 
No. 10. Put on the glass again. 

TWENTY-THIRD DAY 



TWENTY-FOURTH DAY 

Whittle some dibbles ; they are sharp-pointed 
sticks about six inches long and one-half inch 
thick, and are used in making holes in the 
soil of the flats when ready to transplant seed- 
lings, and may be obtained at any seed store. 



February 



17 



TWENTY-FIFTH DAY 

When the temperature of the hot-beds is 85 
degrees, they are ready to plant. After plant- 
ing, put by each variety a wooden label with 
name of seed distinctly written on it. Water 
the soil with tepid water. 



TWENTY-SIXTH DAY 

Place newspapers over the planted flats and 
on the glass of the hot-beds, until the seeds 
send up shoots, then let the light on them 
gradually. Water every day. 



TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY 

As soon as three leaves appear, the plants are 
ready to transplant to other flats, with soil 
No. 11. A little of this work should be done 
each day. A dibble should be run through 
the soil around the transplanted seedlings at 
frequent intervals to keep the soil stirred up. 



18 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY 

Open sash of hot-beds each day to let in the 
air. If cold, only an inch. The planting 
may be delayed until March 1st. 



February 



19 



NOTES 



For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over 
and gone ; 

The flowers appear on the earth ; the time of 
the singing of birds is come, and the voice 
of the turtle is heard in our land ; 

The Fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and 
the vines with the tender grape give a 
good smell. 

Song of Soloman. 

Awake, O north wind; and come thou south; 
blow upon my garden, that the spices 
thereof may flow out. 

Song of Solomon. 



21 



MARCH 



FIRST DAY 

Continue pruning and other unfinished work. 



SECOND DAY 



THIRD DAY 

The seeds which by now should be in the 
flats or hot-beds are : Summer Cabbage and 
Cauliflower, Egg Plants, Lettuce, Parsley, 
Peppers, Sage and Thyme. Some of these 
seeds take many weeks to germinate. 



23 



24 



Every Day in My Garden 



FOURTH DAY 

Put the Dahlia seeds, each separately, in a 
three inch pot. Plant the other flowers seeds 
in the flats. 



FIFTH DAY 

Plant seeds of Celery and Tomatoes. Trans- 
plant Lettuce to a hot-bed. Cover with 
newspapers for a few days. Water daily and 
open the sash for a short time in the middle 
of the day. Keep the temperature moderate. 
When the Lettuce begins to grow, water three 
times a day. Cultivate often. 

SIXTH DAY 

Continue work on shrubs. Rake up the 
lawns. 



March 



25 



SEVENTH DAY 

Attend to transplanting the seedlings. 



EIGHTH DAY 

Make stakes for flowers : Bamboo makes a 
good stake for small plants and can be cut any 
length required. 



NINTH DAY 



26 



Every Day in My Garden 



TENTH DAY 

By now the Cabbage and Cauliflower seed- 
lings should have been pricked into flats or 

another hot-bed. Pricking means placing 
them in the small holes made by the dibble. 
On warm and sunny days remove the sash on 
the hot-beds for a short time. Place the flats 
in the open air to harden, taking them in at 
night. As long as any plant is in a flat it 
must be watered daily. 

ELEVENTH DAY 

Plant seeds of Canterbury Bells and Fox 
Gloves. When three leaves show, prick out 
into another flat. These will bloom the 
following year. 



TWELFTH DAY 

Uncover Hardy Roses and prune hard, that is 
cut back half the wood. Spray them and the 
climbing roses with No. 14 as directed in the 
list at the end. 



March 



27 



THIRTEENTH DAY 

Continue pruning and pricking out of seed- 
lings into other flats. 



FOURTEENTH DAY 



FIFTEENTH DAY 

Do not prune the Harrison Rose, climbing 
Roses or Rugosas. This pruning can be done 
in the summer after blooming. Prune the 
delicate Tea Roses very slightly. 



28 



Every Day in My Garden 



SIXTEENTH DAY 

If the ground is suitable, attend to the Aspar- 
agus bed. Take off the winter covering, 
place it on a piece of ground where the Peas 
or other crops are to be planted later. Take 
off about ten inches of soil from the top of 
the Asparagus plants. Put on each one half 
trowelful nitrate of soda, and replace the soil. 
Lay on well rotted cow manure. Fork it in. 

SEVENTEENTH DAY 



EIGHTEENTH DAY 

Go over all the beds which have been covered 
up, taking off part of the manure and straw. 
Place this on the ground where the vegetables 
are to be planted. Do this gradually. Re- 
member that cold nights may follow warm 
days. 



March 



29 



NINETEENTH DAY 

Continue raking leaves, airing Cabbage and 
Cauliflower, watering Lettuce, airing hot- 
bed and pricking out seedlings. 



TWENTIETH DAY 



TWENTY-FIRST DAY 



Sow on bare spots of the lawns one part Lawn 
Grass seed to one part White Clover. Sprinkle 
wood ashes on lawn. 



30 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-SECOND DAY 

Cut seed potatoes, one or two eyes to a piece, 
preparatory to planting on April 8th. 



TWENTY-THIRD DAY 



TWENTY-FOURTH DAY 

Plant new Hardy Roses, Blackberries and 
woody plants which have been ordered from 
the Nurseryman. 

To prepare a bed for new roses, take out the 
soil to the depth of twelve inches, place in it 
four or five inches of well rotted manure. 
Then replace the soil. After the bed has 
settled, plant in it the new roses, taking care 
that no manure touches the roots. During 
the entire summer keep all the roses covered 
with a cool mulch, such as grass clippings. 
Roses thrive best if planted where they are 
shaded during a part of the day. 



March 



31 



TWENTY-FIFTH DAY 

Look at Peach trees for the borer, a fat worm 
which lives in the trunk near the roots. When 
you find a hole, run a wire in and out to kill 
the worm. Put coal ashes on the surface 
close to the tree to drive away this pest. 



TWENTY-SIXTH DAY 

If the frost is out of the ground, all planting 
of trees, shrubs, vines, berries including straw- 
berries, can be done. The frost is generally 
out of the ground soon after April 1st. 



TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY 

Do a little more uncovering. 



32 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY 

There is plenty of work in taking care of 
green house plants and hot-beds. 



TWENTY-NINTH DAY 



* 



THIRTIETH DAY 

Order from the Nurseryman Pachysandra Ter- 
minalis, (there is no common name,) and 
plant it under trees where no grass will grow. 



March 



33 



THIRT^r-FIRST DAY 

A new Asparagus bed and new strawberry bed 
can be made in early Spring. If three-year- 
old Asparagus plants are bought and are plant- 
ed early in April, they can be cut for thei 
table the following year. 



34 Every Day in My Garden 



NOTES 



One impulse from a vernal wood 
May teach you more of man, 

Of moral evil and of good 
Than all the sages can 

And 'tis my faith that every flower 
Enjoys the air it breathes. 

William Wordsworth. 



35 



APRIL 



FIRST DAY 

Prepare ground for the vegetables. If the soil 
is heavy, dig in lime and sand. Lay the v^in- 
ter covering from the flower beds on the 
vegetable beds, and dig it in. 



SECOND DAY 

Continue this work, putting manure on all 
the vegetable beds and dig it in. To force 
the Rhubarb, place a half barrel over each 
plant. 



THIRD DAY 

Continue preparation of the soil for planting. 
Put soot close about the Roses. If soot is not 
available, use powdered charcoal. 



37 



38 



Every Day in My Garden 



FOURTH DAY 

Fork in manure on Rhubarb, Blackberries 
and Blackcaps. Sow seeds of Shirley and Ice- 
land Poppies in the open ground. 



FIFTH DAY 



SIXTH DAY 

Fork in manure on Strawberry plants. Plant 
seeds of Sweet Peas in good rich soil, very 
deep — twelve to fifteen inches deep. 
If the frost is out of the ground, take up the 
potted Lilies out of the earth pit. Repot 
them in good soil — one third each of compact 
leaf mould and good soil. Place the potted 
Lilies back in the pit, but not so deep ; cover 
with ashes again about six inches deep. 



April 



39 



SEVENTH DAY 

Plant edible peas : for example, one quart 
McLean's Advancer and two quarts Alaska. 
Continue preparation of ground for the vege- 
tables. Overhaul the beds of Canterbury 
Bells, Delphiniums and Foxgloves. Put coal 
ashes on the Delphiniums. 



EIGHTH DAY 

Plant two bushels of Potatoes. Plant Spinach 
in the open ground. Plant in flats seeds of 
Lettuce : for instance, Boston Market, Golden 
Queen or other varieties. These are to be 
eaten six weeks later. 



NINTH DAY 

Plant in the open ground seeds of Beets, Car- 
rots, Onions, Parsnips, Onion-sets and Salsify. 
Fork into the Phlox bed its winter covering. 
Fork manure into the Hollyhocks. Take up 
seedlings in the Hollyhock bed and plant 
them in the bare spots. 



40 



Every Day i?t My Garden 



TENTH DAY 



Spray Rose bushes with Whale Oil Soap No, 
32. Cost of Whale Oil Soap, 25c. a cake. 



ELEVENTH DAY 



Prepare ground for the vegetables. 



TWELFTH DAY 



Put about shrubs, vines and other perennials 
fertilizer No. 36, as in directions, and dig it 
in. No digging should be done now about 
the Peonies or the Iris. Postpone it until 
August. 



April 



41 



THIRTEENTH DAY 

A new Strawberry bed can be planted at this 
time. 



FOURTEENTH DAY 



FIFTEENTH DAY 

Transplant a few Cauliflowers and Cabbages 
from the flats or hot-beds to the open ground. 
If they are not killed by the frost, tw^o or 
three weeks will be gained. Put on the 
Hollyhocks No. 14. 



42 



Every Day in My Garden 



SIXTEENTH DAY 

At this time, if the frost is out of the ground, 
plant Lilies, also the new Tea Roses from the 
Nurseryman. 

During the summer water the Roses con- 
stantly. This insures large blossoms. If the 
manuring is done thoroughly at the end of 
April and in August, mulch of grass kept on 
the entire summer, wood ashes four inches 
deep put on after the manure in April, bugs 
kept off faithfully, the result will be beautiful 
roses and many of them. 

SEVENTEENTH DAY 

Don't forget the greenhouse work, such as 
pricking out seedlings. 



EIGHTEENTH DAY 



Run the cultivator through the potatoes. 



April 



43 



NINETEENTH DAY 

Put on the Cabbage and Cauliflower in the 
open ground No. 20. For potato bugs use 
No. 14. Remove the covering from the box 
borders. 



TWENTIETH DAY 



TWENTY-FIRST DAY 



Plant String Beans : for example, one pint 
Extra Early Refugee. 



44 



Every Day in My Garde7i 



TWENTY-SECOND DAY 

Make a ring around each Rose bush two 
inches from the stem and put in it a scant 
handful of fresh-ground bone meal. 



TWENTY-THIRD DAY 

Trim the Hedges and Box Borders. Look 
over the Dahlia roots which have been kept 
through the winter. Separate them, throwing 
away the decayed parts and placing good roots 
in a box of sand to sprout. 



TWENTY-FOURTH DAY 

Continue cutting the Hedges and Box Bor- 
ders. 



April 



TWENTY-FIFTH DAY 

Plant Peas (two quarts American Wonder). 



45 



TWENTY-SIXTH DAY 



TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY 

Plant in the flats seeds of Lettuce (Black- 
seeded Simpson) for eating in July. This late 
variety does not go to seed as readily as some 
others. Put on the Hollyhocks No. 14. 
Transplant Lettuce (Boston Market and Gol- 
den Queen) to the open ground ; cultivate 
often. 



46 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY 

Overhaul the Chrysanthemums. Take up the 
old roots, divide them and replant in a fresh 
bed. Put on the Cabbage and Cauliflower 
No. 19. Transplant to the open ground from 
the flats for early blooming : Asters, Cosmos, 
Calendulas, Forget-me-nots, Marigolds and 
Sweet Alyssum (Carpet of Snow). 

TWENTY-NINTH DAY 

Dig manure about all the Roses. Put four 
inches of wood ashes close about each plant, 
except the June Roses, which skould have 
the wood ashes in August. Hybrid Perpetual 
Roses like a heavy soil and well rotted sod. 
Tea Roses like a sandy soil and leaf mould. 



THIRTIETH DAY 

Put a half-trowelful of bone meal on the 
Canterbury Bells, Campanulas, Delphiniums 
and Foxgloves. These are the plants which 
have been carried through the winter and are 
to bloom in June« Spray the Roses with 
No. 32. 



April 47 



NOTES 



Every Day in My Garden 



NOTES 



Loeust Trees in Flower 



/ 



The thirsty Earth soaks up the rain, 
And drinks and gaps for drink again ; 

The plants suck in the Earth, and are 
With constant drinking fresh and fair. 

Abraham Cowley 
1618-1667 



49 



MAY 



FIRST DAY 

Plant Com: for example, one pint Early 
Corey, one pint Early Evergreen, one pint 
Country Gentlemen, one quart Minnesota. 
Plant with the corn a few seeds of Summer 
Squash. 

SECOND DAY 

Run the cultivator through the Potatoes. 
When the plants are six inches high, heap the 
soil about them to form hills. 



THIRD DAY 

Make in some part of the garden a nursery 
bed, three feet wide and ten feet long. The 
soil should be one part manure, three parts 
soil. Work it smooth, for small seeds need 
fine soil. Plant here the seeds of Asters, 
Calendulas, Cosmos, Marigolds, Nicotianas, 
Pansies, Sultanas and Zinmias. 

51 



52 



Every Day in My Garde7^ 



FOURTH DAY 

Plant String Beans : one pint Golden Wax. 
Prepare a bed or border like No. 8, plant in 
it broadcast the seeds of Mignonette. Plant 
the seeds of Nasturtiums six inches apart in a 
place where they are to bloom. 



FIFTH DAY 



SIXTH DAY 

The Sweet Alyssum (Carpet of Snow) and 
Candytuft from the flats can now be trans- 
planted to the border. 



May 



53 



SEVENTH DAY 

For Potato Bugs use No. 23. For bllight on 
Potatoes use No. 14 ; two applications should 
cure it. 



EIGHTH DAY 

Plant Lima Beans : for example, one quart 
King of the Garden, one quart Siebert's Early, 
Place bean poles in position, four feet apart ; 
plant four seeds to a pole. One hundred 
poles is not too many for a medium-sized 
family. If the nights are cold, the seeds will 
not germinate, and they must be planted 
again. But it pays to risk early planting. 

NINTH DAY 

In the nursery bed sow the seeds of Winter 
Cabbage, Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts. 
These are for the winter crop. 



54 



Every Day in My Garde^i 



TENTH DAY 

Put No. 20 on the Cabbage and Cauliflower. 
These are the summer plants which have been 
put in the open ground. Put No. 14 on the 
Hollyhocks. 



ELEVENTH DAY 



TWELFTH DAY 

Run cultivator through the Corn. Trans- 
plant Parsley from the flats for a border to a 
vegetable bed. Parsley seed can also be 
planted at this time in the open ground. 



May 



55 



THIRTEENTH DAY 

Transplant the rest of the Summer Cabbage 
and Cauliflower from the flats to the open 
ground. The seedlings of the Canterbury 
Bells and Foxgloves in the flats can now be 
planted in rows in a vegetable bed. Work in 
wood ashes about their roots. They are to 
bloom a year hence. 

FOURTEENTH DAY 

When the strawberries are in bloom, dig in 
finely broken up manure about their roots. 
Take up the potted Lilies and sink the pots in 
the soil in a shady part of the garden, and 
leave them there until within about six weeks 
of their blooming. They need no attention at 
this stage of their existence and they will take 
care of themselves. See work for July 14. 

FIFTEENTH DAY 

Plant Corn, 1 pint each Early Evergreen, 
Country Gentleman, and Shoe Peg in the 
rows between the Early Potatoes. 



56 



Every Day in My Garden 



SIXTEENTH DAY 

Plant Peas, two quarts Shropshire Hero and 
one quart McLean's Advancer. Separate the 
old Forget-me-not plants and replant in a 
fresh border. 



SEVENTEENTH DAY 



EIGHTEENTH DAY 

Put on the Summer Cabbage and Cauliflower 
No. 20. The Canterbury Bells, Foxgloves, 
Pansies, Campanulas, Pyrethrums and Del- 
phiniums, which were transplanted in the fall 
and wintered over, can now be put in their 
permanent place. Give them a good rich 
soil ; let no manure touch their roots. Add 
coal ashes to the soil for the Delphiniums and 
put wood ashes about the ground near the 
other plants. 



May 



SI 



NINETEENTH DAY 

Plant String Beans, one pint Extra Early 
Refugee. Plant in the open ground from the 
flats, Egg Plants, Peppers and Tomatoes. 
The latter require very little manure — the 
Peppers a moderate amount, and the Egg 
Plants rich cow manure. 



TWENTIETH DAY 

Plant Peas, one quart Champion of England. 
Transplant Lettuce from the flats to the open 
ground, Boston Market and Golden Queen. 
Put on the Tomatoes No. 14. Dust the Egg 
Plants with hellebore and watch every day 
for grubs and insects, which immediately 
attack them. 

TWENTY-FIRST DAY 

Spray the Roses with No. 27. Plant in the 
open ground the annuals, both those in the 
flats and those in the nursery bed, also the 
Dahlias which have been in pots or in sand. 
Strew on the ground No. 29 where the 
Pansies and Snap Dragons are to go. Put 
wood ashes about all these young plants, to 
keep away the cut worm. 



58 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-SECOND DAY 

Cultivate the Corn. Put grass clippings under 
and about the Strawberries as a mulch. As 
the Lima Beans grow, twine the tendrils up 
the poles ; hoe them frequently. 



TWENTY-THIRD DAY 

The Celery, which was planted in late Feb- 
ruary and transplanted into flats in late April ^ 
should now be put in the open ground. Cut 
off the roots one-half inch from the base and 
some of the leaves ; plant two inches apart in 
a bed, each row eighteen inches apart, so that 
the cultivator can be run through. Keep 
them free from weeds until July 1st, when 
they are put in their permanent place. A 
thousand plants is not excessive for an ordin- 
ary family. 

TWENTY-FOURTH DAY 

Hoe the Tomatoes. Since the annuals can 
not all be planted on the first day, from time 
to time work should be done on them. 



May 



59 



TWENTY-FIFTH DAY 

Plant Okra seed in a row close together ; 
when it is well up, thin it out. 



TWENTY-SIXTH DAY 



TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY 



Cultivate Carrots and Salsify often, to keep 
the roots from branching. Thin out Beets 
and use for Greens. Weed Onions. 



60 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY 

Plant Heliotrope and Mignonette about the 
Roses. Start these in the greenhouse, or buy 
the plants. Plant Gladiolas in rich soil. 
Transplant the Thyme and other herbs from 
the flats to the garden. 



TWENTY-NINTH DAY 



Plant Melon and Cucumbers. Plant three 
bushels of Potatoes for the winter crop ; they 
should yield enough for a family of eight. 
Put a spoonful of bone meal on the Snap- 
dragons. Put sheep manure on the Asters. 
Cultivate these three often. 



THIRTIETH DAY 

Put COW manure about the Egg Plants and 
dig it in. Water with No. 20. 



May 



61 



T HIRTY-FIRST DAY 

Hoe the Tomatoes, also hoe the Com that 
has been planted in the Potato rows (see page 
55). By this time the Hyacinth and Tulip 
Bulbs should be ripe. If the beds need re- 
newing, dig up the Bulbs, dry them, and 
keep them until fall, when they are to be re- 
planted. If it is not necessary to take them 
up, pull off the ripened leaves, stir the 
ground gently and plant over them one of 
the annuals. 



Box Border, Peonies and Magnolia 



when daisies pied, and violets blue, 
And lady-smocks all silver v^hite, 

And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue. 
Do paint the meadows with delight. 

Shakespeare (''Love's Labour Lost"). 



63 



JUNE 



FIRST DAY 

Plant String Beans, one pint Golden Wax. 
Put No. 20 on all the Summer Cabbage and 
Cauliflower. Cultivate Corn. Put No. 14 
on the Roses. Dig in rich manure on the 
Canterbury Bells, Delphiniums and Fox- 
gloves. 

SECOND DAY 

Hoe the Lima Beans. Put No. 19 on the 
Asters, Cocks Combs, Campanulas, Dahlias, 
Heliotrope, Mignonette, Nicotianas, Pansies, 
Petunias, Roses, Salpiglossis, Schizanthus, 
Snapdragons and Verbenas. 

THIRD DA Y 

Stake with bamboo and tie the Dahlias, 
Nicotianas, Petunias, Salpiglossis and Snap- 
dragons. 



65 



66 



Every Day in My Garden 



FOURTH DAY 

Water the Tomatoes with No. 14. Put this 
also on the Hollyhocks. 



FIFTH DAY 



SIXTH DAY 

To make the little annuals strong and bushy, 
cut off the top bud and a few leaves. Do 
this to the Marigolds and Salpiglossis, Snap- 
dragons and Zinnias. Pinch off the shoots 
from the Dahlia roots, leaving two or three 
to grow. Cut off all the flower buds at the 
base of the leaves, leaving three at the top. 



Tune 



67 



SEVENTH DAY 

Put on the Egg Plants No. 19 and No. 20; 
On the Cabbage and Cauliflower No. 30. 
As soon as three leaves appear on the Melons 
and Cucumbers, dust with hellebore and keep 
watch for the grubs. 



EIGHTH DAY 



NINTH DAY 



Cultivate the Corn in the Potato rows ; culti- 
vate the winter Potatoes. For potato bugs 
use No. 23 ; for the blight use No, 14. 



68 Every Day in My Garden 



TENTH DAY 

Hoe the Lima Beans. 



ELEVENTH DAY 



TWELFTH DAY 

Destroy the rose bugs by hand; use No. 27; 
also put No. 27 on any plant afflicted with 
the ills mentioned in that paragraph. Trans- 
plant to the open ground Black-seeded 
Simpson Lettuce. 



June 



69 



THIRTEENTH DAY 

Put No. 13 on the Pansies, Petunias and 
Heliotrope. 



FOURTEENTH DAY 



FIFTEENTH DAY 



Put on the Egg Plants No. 19. If the season 
is dry, put on No. 20. Stop cutting the 
Asparagus and keep it free from weeds. 



70 



Every Day in My Garden 



SIXTEENTH DAY 

Plant String Beans, one pint Extra Early 
Refugee. Put No. 14 on the Tomatoes, 
No. 20 on the Asters, Canterbury Bells, Cam- 
panulas, Delphiniums, Pyrethrums, Roses and 
Snapdragons. 



SEVENTEENTH DAY 

Cultivate the winter Potatoes. Put sheep 
manure on the Verbenas. 



EIGHTEENTH DAY 



Every day cut off all the faded blossoms. 



June 



71 



NINETEENTH DAY 

If necessary, prune shrubs after blooming. 
Shrubs should grow naturally, only cut them 
if out of shape or too rampant. 



TWENTIETH DAY 

More Lettuce — Black-seeded Simpson — can 
now be planted in the garden; cultivate it 
often. Cultivate the Corn in the potato rows. 



TWENTY-FIRST DAY 

Put No. 19 on the Egg Plants; if dry season, 
No. 20. Dig manure about the Hydrangeas 
and put on No. 20. 



72 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-SECOND DAY 

Cultivate the winter Potatoes. Plant in the 
garden the winter Cabbage, Cauliflower and 
Brussels Sprouts. 



TWENTY-THIRD DAY 



TWENTY-FOURTH DAY 



Put No. 19 on the Asters, Cocks Combs, 
Campanulas, Delphiniums, Dahlias, Roses, 
Salpiglossis and Snapdragons. Put No. 13 on 
the Petunias, Pansies and Heliotrope. 



June 



73 



TWENTY-FIFTH DAY 

Water the Tomatoes with No. 14, Put on 
Asters No. 26. 



TW ENTY-SIXTH DAY 

Cut off all the seed pods from the Peonies, 
Fraxinella, Lilies and Oriental Poppies. A 
few should be kept to ripen for seeds. 



TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY 

Put on the winter Cabbage, Cauliflower and 
Brussels Sprouts Nos. 19 and 20. On the 
Roses and Phlox, No. 14. 



74 



Every Day t?i My Garden 



TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY 

Put on the Egg Plants No. 19, and if dry, 
No. 20. Put on the summer Cabbage and 
Cauliflower No. 20. 



TWENTY-NINTH DAY 



THIRTIETH DAY 



Plant Corn, one quart Early Evergreen, for a 
late crop. 



June 75 



NOTES 



Every Day in My Garden 



NOTES 



A Garden Comer 




And because the Breath of Flowers is farre 
sweeter in the aire (where it comes and goes 
like the Warbling of Musick) then in the 
hand, therefore nothing is more fit for that 
delight then to Know what be the Flowers 
and Plants that doe best perfume the aire. 

Francis Bacon. 



77 



JULY 



FIRST DAY 

Prepare a bed for the Celery. .Select a 
place where Peas and Beans have grown. 
Dig in well-rotted manure, make a trench ten 
inches deep. Take the little plants out of the 
bed where they were put the end of May and 
cut off some of the roots and leaves as before. 
Dip each plant in strong manure water, No. 
19. As the plants grow, draw the soil about 
them, taking care not to cover the crowns. 

SECOND DAY 

Put No. 20 on the Dahlias. Keep the 
Asparagus and Strawberries weeded. 



THIRD DAY 

Pick Sweet Peas every day, otherwise they 
go to seed and stop blooming. If the Nas- 
turtiums do not bloom, cut off half the leaves. 



79 



80 



Every Day in My Garden 



FOURTH DAY 

Put on the Egg Plants No. 19, and No. 20, 
if the weather is dry. On the Celery No. 
20. On the Asters No. 26 for the Aster beetle. 
If this pest reappears after one application 
continue .to use it. 



FIFTH DAY 



SIXTH DAY 

Let the Bluets sow themselves, then remove 
the old plants, dig over this bed in which 
one or more of the annuals may be planted. 
In the spring the Bluets will come up. 



July 



81 



SEVENTH DAY 

Put No. 19 on the Asters, Cockscombs, 
Dahlias, Roses, Salpiglossis and Snapdragons. 
Wild ferns can be taken up from the 
woods and swamps and replanted between 
June first and August first. Enrich the bed 
with leaf mould, cut ofiF half the length of 
leaves, water the ferns twice a week with a 
solution of two table spoonsful of ammonia 
to one gallon of water on the soil. About 
twice a month substitute for one of these 
waterings a tea spoonful of castor oil. Put 
this in hot water and thoroughly mix it before 
applying. 

EIGHTH DAY 



NINTH DAY 

As soon as the Canterbury Bells have done 
blooming pull them up and burn them and 
replant the bed with an annual. 



82 Every Day in My Garden 



TENTH DAY 

Keep the runners cut off from the Straw- 
berry plants. Weed the Raspberries and the 
Blackberries. 



ELEVENTH DAY 

Stake and tie the Cosmos with bamboo stakes. 
Put No. 19 on the Hydrangeas. 



TWELFTH DAY 



Put on the Egg Plants No. 19, and if the 
weather is dry No. 20. 



July 



83 



THIRTEENTH DAY 

Cut off to the ground the ribbon grass before 
it blooms. It will come up in ten days and 
be fine until after frost. 

The potted Lilies should now be taken up 
and prepared for blooming six weeks later. 
Prepare a border or spot in the flower beds 
by digging it over, and in this place, plant 
the Lilies, taking them out of the pots. 
Two weeks later, fertilize. See July 28. 



FOURTEENTH DAY 



FIFTEENTH DAY 



Plant String Beans, one pint Early Refugee, 
one pint Golden Wax. Put on the Celerj 
No. 20; on the Hollyhocks and Phlox No. 
14; on the Pansies, Petunias and Heliotrope, 
No. 13. 



84 



Every Day in My Garde7t 



SIXTEENTH DAY 

Plant in the flats or the nursery bed the 
ripened seeds of Campanulas, Delphiniums. 
Pyrethrums. Buy seeds of Canterbury Bells, 
Foxgloves and Pansies, and plant them in 
a flat or nursery bed. 



SEVENTEENTH DAY 

Plant in the nursery bed the ripened seeds 
of Fraxinella, Hollyhocks and Oriental Pop- 
pies. Leave them there until spring. 



EIGHTEENTH DAY 

Put on the w^inter Cabbage, Cauliflower 
and Brussels Sprouts No. 19 and No. 20. 
When the Delphiniums have finished bloom- 
ing, cut them to the ground. They w^ill 
come up again and bloom in September and 
continue until frost. 



July 



85 



NINETEENTH DAY 

Put No. 19 on the Egg Plants. Take off 
all the new tender shoots on the Grapevines. 
Cut off large leaves so that the sun may reach 
the Grapes. 



TWENTIETH DAY 



TWENTY-FIRST DAY 

Keep the Asparagus and Strawberry plants 
weeded. 



86 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-SECOND DAY 

On the Asters, Cockscombs, Dahlias, Helio- 
trope, Mignonette, Nicotianas, Pansies and 
Snapdragons put No. 19. 



TWENTY-THIRD DAY 

Plant Sweet Alyssum (Carpet of Snow) in 
a border for late blooming. 



TWENTY-FOURTH DAY 

When the little black fruit from the Tiger 
Lilies falls, make a nole one and one-half 
inches deep and poke it in. It will produce 
plants and bloom in two years. 



July 



87 



TWENTY-FIFTH DAY 

Put No. 19 and No. 20 on the winter 
Cabbage, Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts. 



TWENTY-SIXTH DAY 

Put No. 19 on the Egg Plants. Put on the 
Delphiniums coal ashes. On the Celery 
No. 20. 



TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY 



88 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY 

Cut oflF the haws from all the Roses, the 
climbing Roses included. 

Make a trench two inches deep, two inches 
from the stem of the Lilies planted two weeks 
ago. Fill this trench with sheep manure, 
cover lightly with soil. Water well and con- 
tinue to do this every four days until the 
flower buds are well formed. After this, no 
further attention will be necessary. 

TWENTY-NINTH DAY 

Sprinkle No. 24 on the Winter Cabbage and 
Cauliflower for three days. 



THIRTIETH DAY 

Plant Spinach for fall use. 



July 



89 



THIRTY-FIRST DAY 

Dig about the fall Chrysanthemums and put 
on No. 19. 



90 



Every Day in My Garden 



NOTES 



A Woodland Stream 



NOTES 



Take joy home, 
And make a place in thy great heart for her, 
And give her time to grow, and cherish her ; 
Then will she come, and oft will sing to thee, 
When thou art working in the furrows ; ay. 
Or weeding in the sacred hour of dawn. 
It is a comely fashion to be glad — 
Joy is the grace we say to God. 

Jean Ingelow. 



91 



AUGUST 



FIRST DAY 

When the Phlox has done blooming cut it 
off to the ground and it will bloom again. 
Leave some blooms to seed, they will sow 
themselves and come up in the spring and 
can then be transplanted. 

SECOND DAY 



THIRD DAY 

Dig about the Hybrid and Tea Roses fresh 
bone meal. 



93 



94 



Every Day in My Garden 



FOURTH DAY 

When the Hollyhocks are done blooming, 
fork up the ground so the seeds can germinate. 
A week after this cut off the Hollyhocks and 
burn them. 



FIFTH DAY 

Put No. 13 on the Pansies, Petunias, Helio- 
trope. By this time if these plants are satis- 
factory the No. 13 can be discontinued. 
Put stakes four feet six inches long by the 
Cosmos ; drive in six or seven inches ; tie them 
w^ell. 



SIXTH DAY 

Lay w^ell rotted manure on the mulch on 
the roses and dig it all in. 



August 



95 



SEVENTH DAY 

Put No. 19 and No. 20 on the winter Cab- 
bage, Cauliflowers and Brussels Sprouts. 
Plant Peas, 1 quart American Wonder, for the 
latest crop. 



EIGHTH DAY 



NINTH DAY 



Put on the Egg Plants No. 19 and No. 20. 
On the Celery No. 20. On the Hydrangeas 
No. 19 and No. 20. 



96 Every Day in My Garden 



TENTH DAY 

Put Stakes three feet six inches high by the 
large Nicotianas and tie them. 



ELEVENTH DAY 

Put four inches of wood ashes on the June 
Roses. 



TWELFTH DAY 



Put No. 19 on the Dahlias, small Nicotianas, 
Snapdragons and Verbenas. 



THIRTEENTH DAY 



August 



97 



FOURTEENTH DAY 



FIFTEENTH DAY 

Put sheep manure on the Asters. Bank up 
the Celery as it grows, leaving the crown 
above the soil. Put No. 19 on the Chrysan- 
themums. 



98 Every Day in My Garden 



SIXTEENTH DAY 

Dig rich cow manure into the Peony roots. 
Take off about ten inches of soil from the 
Asparagus plants. Sow on the crowns equal 
quantities of bone meal and nitrate of soda ; 
then cover again with soil and lay on cow 
manure and dig it in. This work can also 
be done in the spring. 

SEVENTEENTH DAY 



EIGHTEENTH DAY 



August 



99 



NI NETEENTH DAY 

Put on the Egg Plants No. 19 and No. 
20. The weather is apt to be dry at this time, 
so nitrate of soda will help the Egg Plants ; 
but if they are doing well this fertilizing can 
be stopped. 



TWENTIETH DAY 



TWENTY-FIRST DAY 



100 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-SECOND DAY 

Put No. 19 and No. 20 on the Hydrangeas. 



TWENTY-THIRD DAY 



TWENTY-FOURTH DAY 



TWENTY-FIFTH DAY 



August 



101 



TWENTY-SIXTH DAY 



TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY 

Plant the ripened seeds of the Peonies. They 
do not germinate until spring and the plants 
will not bloom until they are two years old. 



102 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY 

If desirable put on the Egg Plants No. 19. 
On the Petunias and Heliotrope No. 13. 



TWENTY-NINTH DAY 



THIRTIETH DAY 



August 



103 



THIRTY-FIRST DAY 

Put No. 19 on the winter Cabbage and 
Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts. Put it also 
on the Chrysanthemums. 



104 



Every Day in My Garden 



NOTES 



I marvel that the great men 
of the earth prefer to reap 
the iron harvest of war 
to the rich gifts of Ceres. — 

Mary Worthy Montagu. 



T05 



SEPTEMBER 



FIRST DAY 

During this month overhaul the beds of 
perennials, and make new flower beds. 



SECOND DAY 

Put No. 19 on the Dahlias and Snapdragons. 



THIRD DAY 

Order from the Nurseryman, the shrubs, bulbs 
and perennial roots for the new beds. Plant 
them as soon as received. Make beds rich to 
receive the perennial roots and bulbs. Put a 
handful of sand in the hole where the latter 

go, as no manure should touch them. 

107 



108 Every Day in My Garden 



FOURTH DAY 

Fork manure into the roots of the Chrysan- 
themums. Use tobacco water to kill black 
aphides (No. 35). 



FIFTH DAY 

Transplant from the flats or nursery bed the 
little seedlings of Canterbury Bells, Cam- 
panulas, Delphiniums, Fox Gloves, Pansies 
and Pyrethmms. These Canterbury Bells 
bloom the following year and are then fin- 
ished. They never bloom again. 



SIXTH DAY 



September 109 



SEVENTH DAY 



EIGHTH DAY 



NINTH DAY 

Put No. 20 on the Roses. 



110 Every Day in My Garden 



TENTH DAY 

Put No. 19 on the Egg Plants. 



ELEVENTH DAY 



TWELFTH DAY 



Put No. 19 on the Chrysanthemuns. 



THIRTEENTH DAY 



September 



111 



FOURTEENTH DAY 



FIFTEENTH DAY 

Put No. 19 on the Dahlias 



112 Every Day in My Garden 



SIXTEENTH DAY 

Dig up the Onions, lay them on the ground 
to dry. Three days afterwards place them on 
the barn floor. 



SEVENTEENTH DAY 



EIGHTEENTH DAY 



September 



113 



NINETEENTH DAY 



Cut off the suckers about the shrubs. 



TWENTIETH DAY 



TWENTY-FIRST DAY 



114 Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-SECOND DAY 



Clear out the hot beds, using the manure 
for the new flower beds 



TWENTY-THIRD DAY 



TWENTY-FOURTH DAY 



September 



115 



TWENTY-FIFTH DAY 

Put No. 19 on the Chrysanthemums. 



TWENTY-SIXTH DAY 

Take up the Dahlia roots after the first frost 
and put them in the barn. 



TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY 

When the first signs of frost appear, cover 
at night the blooming annuals and the bloom- 
ing Roses, which will continue to flower until 
the end of November. 



116 Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY 



TWENTY-NINTH DAY 



THIRTIETH DAY 



Put wood ashes about the plants of young 
Canterbury Bells. 



September 



NOTES 



118 



Every Day in My Garden 



NOTES 



Autumn in the Garden 



fiabiftO aril ni amuiuA 



To smell a turf of fresh earth is wholesome for 
the body : no less are thoughts of immortality 
cordial to the soul. 

Thomas Fuller. 

1608—1661, 



119 



OCTOBER 



FIRST DAY 

Make over the beds for the perennials. Take 
up the roots of Yellow Lilies, cut them in 
squares and replant in fresh soil. 



SECOND DAY 

Do the same to the Golden Glow. 



THIRD DAY 

Do the same to the Phlox and plant in the 
bed some of the seedlings. 



121 



122 



Every Day in My Garden 



FOURTH DAY 

Take up the Iris and pull apart the roots and 
replant them. 



FIFTH DAY 



SIXTH DAY 

Separate the roots of Oriental Poppies and 
replant them. All the perennials should be 
overhauled once in three or four years, except 
the Peonies, which should not be disturbed 
unless they are in bad condition, in which 
case they can be taken up, decayed roots cut 
out and the sound ones replanted. 



October 



123 



SEVENTH DAY 

Dig up the potatoes and put them on the 
barn floor. 



EIGHTH DAY 

Put coal ashes on the Delphiniums. If they 
are not doing well take them up, examine 
the roots and cut out rotten parts and replant 
them in fresh soil. 



NINTH DAY 



Continue making new beds. 



124 Every Day in My Garden 



TENTH DAY 

The new hardy Roses should now be planted. 
Also at this time old Roses can be moved. 



ELEVENTH DAY 



TWELFTH DAY 



Pick the apples and place them on the barn 
floor. 



October 



125 



THIRTEENTH DAY 

Continue picking apples. Plant shrubs and 
fruit trees. Make beds for bulbs and plant 
them. 



FOURTEENTH DAY 

Put No. 19 on the Chrysanthemums. Also 
on the Roses. 



FIFTEENTH DAY 

Dig the Carrots and Beets, always placing 
the roots on the barn floor to take the natural 
heat out of them before putting away for the 
winter. 



126 Every Day in My Garden 



SIXTEENTH DAY 

Dig up the Salsify and all other roots. 



SEVENTEENTH DAY 



EIGHTEENTH DAY 

Put the Onions in the root cellar. 



October 



127 



N INETEENTH DAY 

Cut off the stems of the DahHas and when 
they are thoroughly dry place them in a 
barrel, laying hay about them. Keep them in 
the cellar. 



TWENTIETH DAY 



TWENTY-FIRST DAY 



128 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-SECOND DAY 

Pull up all the annuals and burn them to kill 
the eggs of insects ; add the ashes to your 
store. 



TWENTY-THIRD DAY 



TWENTY-FOURTH DAY 



TWENTY-FIFTH DAY 



October 



129 



TWENTY-SIXTH DAY 



TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY 

After a cold spell take up the Celery. Clean 
out the hot beds, put one foot of sand in tho 
bottom ; cut off about six inches of the Celery 
leaves. Place it upright in the sand, packed 
close together. 



130 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY 

If you have not enough space in the hot- 
beds, put the Celery into large boxes packed 
with sand, and placed in the root cellar. 



TWENTY-NINTH DAY 

Continue work on the Celery. 



THIRTIETH DAY 

When the Celery is all in, there should be 
several feet of air between the Celery and the 
glass. Place wooden shutters on the sash. 



October 



131 



THIRTY-FIRST DAY 

On warm days open the glass to air the hot- 
beds ; on cold nights cover the sash and 
shutters with old quilts or sacking. 



132 Every Day in My Garden 



NOTES 



Bare Locust Trees 
Wistaria and Honeysuckle in full Leaf 



i 



For Art may err, but Nature cannot miss. . . 
Better to hunt in fields for health unbought 
Than fee the doctors for a nauseous draught 
The wise for cure on exercise depend. 

John Dryden. 



133 



NOVEMBER 



FIRST DAY 

The work of covering the beds can now begin. 
Put a little manure on the most delicate 
plants. Don't do it too early. A little freez- 
ing will do them no harm. 



SECOND DAY 



THIRD DAY 

The Pansies which have been blooming all 
summer, if covered with a little manure, will 
live through the winter and bloom in late 
April. 



135 



136 



Every Day in My Garden 



FOURTH DAY 

Roses need heavy manure covering and litter 
on top of that. The tender Tea Roses should 
be buried. To do this take away the soil 
near the stem ; then bend the plant gently 
down and cover it with earth and manure 
and last of all litter. 



FIFTH DAY 

The Canterbury Bells, Fox Gloves, Delphi- 
niums and their companions need only a 
light covering bedding mixed with leaves. 



SIXTH DAY 

Cover the Peonies with manure. If Dianthus 
and Snapdragons are covered lightly they may 
live and bloom in the spring. 



November 



137 



SEVENTH DAY 

It is worth while, as far as possible, to winter 
over the annuals as it obviates planting seeds 
in the spring. But it is well to sow seeds also, 
as the new seeded plants give finer blooms. 
Columbine is another annual which lives 
through the winter, and Forget-me-nots al- 
ready mentioned. 

EIGHTH DAY 



NINTH DAY 

Cover the Oriental Poppies. Lightly cover 
the Parsley and Thyme. 

Lilies can be planted in pots at this time 
for blooming in late summer. Buy Lilium 
Speciosum Rubrums and Albums, also Aura- 
tums. Place each bulb in a five inch pot, in 
sifted coal ashes, no soil. Place the pots in a 
pit dug in the ground about eighteen inches, 
deep. Cover by degrees with more coal ashes. 
After hard freezing, heap some soil on top of 
the ashes. Early in April, take them up. See 
work for April. 



138 



Every Day in My Garden 



TENTH DAY 

Take up the Cabbage and Cauliflower ; place 
them in the barn. Later put them in a bin 
in the root cellar; place the roots up and 
cover with hay. Do this late in November. 



ELEVENTH DAY 

After the Currant and Goosberry bushes have 
lost their leaves, they can be taken up, 
divided, freed of weeds, etc, and replanted 
in good loose soil. 



TWELFTH DAY 

Fork up the Raspberry and Blackberry beds. 
Cut out all the wood which bore in July ; 
pull up the new growth, leaving four or five 
canes. If new plants are needed, plant those 
pulled up. 



November 



139 



THIRTEENTH DAY 

Put coal ashes on the ground about the Peach 
trees. Gather up all the stakes and poles and 
place them in the tool house. 



FOURTEENTH DAY 

The Brussels Sprouts should be left standing 
where they grew in the summer. Gather it 
as it is needed for the table ; frost does not 
injure it. Spinach can be taken up, roots 
and all, and put in a pit or a box of sand, in 
the same manner as the Celery. 

FIFTEENTH DAY 

When a young fruit tree makes great growth 
of branches and produces no fruit, prune the 
roots. To do this, dig a trench eighteen 
inches deep around the tree, cut oflF the ends 
of the roots with a spade, and place manure 
at this point to preserve their health and 
vigor. This is rather a dangerous thing to 
do, but it is better to risk it than to have no 
fruit. 



140 



Every Day in My Garden 



SIXTEENTH DAY 

Cover the Asparagus with manure after heavy 
frost. 



SEVENTEENTH DAY 



EIGHTEENTH DAY 

The Cabbage and Cauliflower can be covered 
in the garden in a dry spot. Pull them up, 
place the leaves down and the roots up, pack 
them close, cover them with leaves and hay, 
dien soil. Put boards about them on the 
sides, bank up the soil and make all tight. 



November 



141 



NINETEENTH DAY 

The root cellar should be below the frost line. 
It should have a dry floor, divided into bins 
3 feet by 4 feet. Everything should be covered 
with hay. On warm days the root cellar 
should be aired. 



TWENTIETH DAY 

Clean up the vegetable beds, burn all the old 
stalks, save the ashes. Stack the corn stalks 
in the barn yard for feed for the cows. Fork 
over the beds and trench them. This exposes 
the eggs of insects to the frost. Plough the 
beds if practicable. 



TWENTY-FIRST DAY 

Every three years, put on the soil a bountiful 
amount of salt and lime, two tons of salt 
one ton of lime to three acres. 



142 



Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-SECOND DAY 

Put coarse manure about the Rhubarb. By 
this time the heavy covering should be finished. 



TWENTY-THIRD DAY 



Scatter well rotted manure thinly over the 
lav^ns. Well rotted manure is not liable to 
have seeds of v^eeds in it. 



TWENTY-FOURTH DAY 



Cover the Chrysanthemums with coarse man- 
ure. 



November 



143 



TWENTY-FIFTH DAY 

Cover the box boarders with leaves, then 
place boards over them, driving a peg in the 
path to support the board so it w^ill not rest 
on the box. The winter sun is apt to kill box. 



TWENTY-SIXTH DAY 



TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY 



144 Every Day in My Garden 



TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY 



TWENTY-NINTH DAY 



THIRTIETH DAY 



November 145 



NOTES 



Every Day in My Garden 



NOTES 



The Garden is best to Square; Incompassed 
on ale the Foure Sides with a Stately Arched 
Hedge. . . 

For Fountaines, they are a great Beauty and 
Refreshment. But Pooles Marre ale and Make 
the Garden unwholsome, and full of Flies and 
Frogs. . . 

Francis Bacon. 



147 



DECEMBER. 



Dimmest and brightest month am I; 
My short days end, my lengthening days begin; 
What matters more or less sun in the sky, 
When all is sun within." 

Christina G. Rossetti, 

During this month the bulbs for blooming 

in the house should be started, as they take 

from twelve to sixteen weeks from the time 

they are planted till they bloom. The soil 

for these bulbs should be a mixture of one 

part sand, one part fine manure and one part 

leaf mold or fine soil. Put stones in the 

bottom of four or six inch pots and fill with 

this mixture. Plant the bulbs, little bulbs in 

the smaller pots, bigger bulbs in the larger 

pots, taking care to put some sand in the 

holes before burying the bulbs so the rich soil 

will not touch them directly. Place the pots 

in a cellar or some cool, dark place and cover 

them completely with earth. Thus buried 

from all light and air, the bulbs form strong 

roots, which produce fine blossoms later. 

149 



150 Every Day in My Garden 



Bulbs of Daph nes, Daffodils, Hyacinths, 
etc. , must lie buried from eight to ten weeks ; 
Lilies twelve weeks. At the end of the proper 
period uncover the bulbs and water them. 
After a day or two begin to bring them 
gradually into the light, watering them daily. 
About a month later all the bulbs should 
bloom. 

I would suggest buying several dozen bulbs 
of white Roman Hyacinths. Plant them in 
boxes about eight inches deep and treat them 
as the bulbs planted in pots. After the bulbs 
have been brought into the light and the 
flower buds have grown about an inch and a 
half take up the bulbs, wash off the soil and 
place them close together in a silver china 
bowl, stuffing dried moss all about the bulbs 
to make them stand up straight, and filling 
the bowl with water. Placed in this way 
these little Hyacinths will grow and blossom 
as if they were planted in soil. There is a 
special advantage in planting Hyacinths in 
this manner, for they do not require sunlight 
as bulbs planted in soil do, but will bloom just 
as well if left in the centre of the table or in 
some dark corner where they brighten up all 
around them. — From ''A Year in my Garden." 



December 151 



NOTES 



Preparation of Soils 



The numbers at the beginning of each of the 

following paragraphs are numbers referred to 
in the text. 

No. 1 

Leaf Mould. Gather leaves in the fall and 
place them in a damp place. When a year 
old, turn them over; do this again at the end 
of the second year. The material is now 
ready for use. It contains lye and nitrogen. 

No 2 

Compost. Save all grass clippings, weeds, etc. 
In mid-summer turn them over. The material 
will be ready to use at the end of the year. 

No. 3 

Rotten sod. Take a load of sod, lay grass side 
down, soil up, pile one piece on another. 
Keep this one year. At the end of this time 
cut it down with a spade into squares and 
make a new pile. Do this three times and 
at the end of the second year it will be ready 
to use. 



154 Every Day in my Ga?^den 



No. 4 

Sand. Contains iron and silica. 

No. 5 

Loam. The soil just under sod. 

No. 6 

Soil treated with sulphur and soot will drive 
away cut-worms and ants. It is especially 
good for Pansies and Snapdragons, Use 
one-half pound sulphur to five pounds sooto 
Strew this lightly on the ground and rake it in. 

No. 7 

The soil of the garden should be treated 
with salt and lime every three years. Fifteen 
hundred pounds of salt to seven hundred and 
fifty pounds of lime per acre. Sprinkle this 
on the surface of the ground in the fall to be 
absorbed. 

No. 8 

The Nursery-bed. This is a place in a garden 
in which to plant seeds of hardy annuals. 
Make it ten feet long by three feet wide, use 
very fine soil, one part manure to three parts 
soil. 



Preparation of Soils 



155 



Soils for Flats. 

Pour boiling water over soil in flats a day 
before planting to kill pests and seeds of 
weeds. Placing the soil in a large pan and 
heating over a fire is also a good way to 
accomplish the same result. 

No. 9 

For flats for flower seeds. — One-half part leaf 
mould, one-half part compost. 

No. 10 

For flats for vegetable seeds. — One-third part 
sand, one-third loam, one-third rotten sod. 

No» 11 

For flats for transplanted flowers, seedlings 
and vegetables. — One-fourth loam, one-fourth 
leaf mould, one-fourth compost, one-fourth 
sand. 

No. 12 

For Cauliflowers, Cabbage and Peppers, use 
rotten sod. 



156 Every Day in Mj; Garden 



Fertilizers and Insecticides* 

No. 13 

Bon Arbor. One pound of this to thirty 
gallons of water or one heaping tablespoon to 
two gallons of water, is the proportion for 
using this stimulant. 

The plants should not be watered for twenty- 
four hours before nor twenty-four hours after 
application of Bon Arbor. Pour one-half 
pint over the roots of each plant, less for every 
small plant, such as Pansies. 
Repeat in ten days, after that every three 
weeks, if needed. This is an expensive ferlil- 
izer, but it produces such large blossoms and 
such brilliant colors that it repays the outlay 
and is especially satisfactory for Petunias, 
Pansies, Heliotrope and Verbenas. 

No. 14 

Bordeaux Mixttcre. — For Potatoes: dilute 
one gallon with twenty gallons of water. 
For tomatoes and Cauliflower: dilute one 
gallon with twenty-five gallons of water. 
For Roses: dilute one gallon with thirty- 
five gallons of water. 

For Cabbage : dilute one gallon with forty 
gallons of water. 



Preparation of Soils 



157 



Pour the mixture into a watering pot and 
sprinkle the leaves and stems thoroughly. 
For blight on Potatoes, apply and repeat in a 
week ; this should cure it. 
For rust, mildew, black spot and yellow leaf, 
apply as soon as leaves are affected. 

No. 15 

Bone meal (a feeder) . — It acts slowly ; it should 
be put on in April and again in mid-summer. 
Sprinkle a tablespoonful of Bone Meal (less 
for the smaller plants) around each plant and 
work it into the soil. 

No. 16 

Coal ashes. — Used to kill the white worm on 
Delphiniums. Apply in the spring and fail. 

No. 17 

Cottonseed Meal. — For lawns, one ton to the 
acre. 

No. 18 

Hellebore (an Insecticide). — Dust it on Egg 
Plant as soon as planted ; also good for aphis 
on Roses and other plants. 



158 



Every Day in My Garden 



No. 19 

Manure Water (a stimulant). — ^Take a burlap 
bag, and half fill it with fresh cow manure ; 
tie it up, leaving space for the manure to 
swell. Place this in a large barrel and fill 
the barrel with water. This should stand 
twenty-four hours, when it will be ready for 
use. About two-thirds of this mixture to 
one-third of water would be safe for most 
things; the full strength can be used for 
large, strong plants. When used up the barrel 
can be refilled with water without renewing 
the manure. Apply this fluid to plants once 
in two or three weeks as required. 

No. 20 

Nitrate of Soda. — It is not a root stimulant, 
but assists the plant to form large flowers and 
makes brilliant colors. It should be used 
with great care, otherwise the plants may be 
killed. A safe and useful mixture is : 

One heaping tablespoon with two gallons 

of water. 

Pour it over the plants from a watering 
pot ; apply once in three weeks. 
A few crystals placed in the ground a few 



Preparation of Soils 



159 



inches from the stem of the plants also in- 
crease blooms. 

After flower buds form, stop using nitrate of 
soda. 

Nitrate of soda can be alternated with manure 
water. For instance, use nitrate of soda ; 
two weeks later use manure water; then in two 
weeks nitrate of soda, and two weeks later 
manure water, and so on. Apply nitrate of 
soda on Hybrid Perpetual Roses in June and 
again in mid-summer. 

No. 21 

In a dry season use a mixture of nitrate of 
soda (one pound to forty gallons of water) 
for bare spots on lawn. 

No. 22 

Nitrate of Soda. — One part to two parts wood 
ashes. Put a very little on Asters end of June. 

No. 23 

Paris Green. — Used for Potato bugs : half 
pound to one hundred pounds land plaster. 
Dust on plants ; repeat if necessary in a few 
days. 



160 



Every Day in my Garden 



No. 24 

Saltpetre. — One teaspoon to one gallon water. 
To kill eggs of cabbage moth, apply for three 
successive days in summer. 

No. 25 

Sheep Manure (a stimulant). — Put on annuals, 
especially Asters, Verbenas and Salpiglossis. 

No. 26 

Hammond' s Slugshot and Hellebore, — One-half 
pound each to four pounds land plaster. 
Kills black beetle on Asters. Use at the end 
of June. 

No. 27 

Haminond's Slugshot^ for Rose-bugs.— One 
pound to three gallons of water. Spray on 
the plants. Bordeaux mixture and whale oil 
soap also kill Rose-bugs, and all three kill 
aphis, black fly and red spider. 

No. 28 

Soap (ivory or laundry). — Kills insects in 
plants. One cake to one pail of water. 



Preparation af Soils 



161 



No. 29 

Soot and Sulphur. — Kills insects in ground. 
Half pound sulphur to five pounds soot, well 
mixed. Sprinkle over ground and mix with 
soil before planting. Use this in places where 
ants are troublesome. If soot is not available, 
use charcoal. 

No. 30 

Sulphur and Wood Ashes ^ for pest which de- 
vours melons and cucumbers. Quarter pound 
sulphur to one bushel wood ashes. Dust over 
melons and cucumbers, as soon as they are up. 
Do this continuously. 

No. 31 

Salt laid on the ground two and one-half 
inches from plant is a sure remedy for cut 
worm. Use sparingly, for if the salt touches 
the roots, the plant will be killed. 

No. 32 

Whale Oil Soap. — For Rose beetle and aphis, 
one pound to eight gallons water. Begin to 
use it at the end of April. Second applica- 
tion May 25th and then June 10th. 



162 



Every Day in My Garden 



No. 33 

Wood Ashes. Kills insects. — Put a heaping 
tablespoon on each of the annual plants as 
soon as planted in the open ground, for they 
are almost immediately attacked. 

No. 34 

Tar. — Crows are prone to pull up corn as soon 
as it comes up. To prevent this, put tar on 
the seed before planting; a very little should 
be used. Drip a thin thread-like stream on 
the corn, then mix well with the fingers. 
The taste disgusts the crows and they cease 
pulling it. If too much is used, the corn 
will not germinate. 

No. 35 

Tobacco Water kills black aphides, also green 
aphides. Fill a pail with tobacco stems, pour 
on as much water as this pail will hold ; let 
it stand three hours, when it is ready to use. 
It is good for twenty-four hours only. 

No. 36 

A good fertilizer for shrubs, vines and peren- 
nials, is one wheelbarrow of manure, one pail 
each bone-meal and wood-ashes, well mixed. 
Apply early in April. 



Preparation of Soils 



163 



No. 37 

If Delphiniums are attacked with blight, use 
bordeaux mixture once a month : one quarr 
bordeaux to eight gallons of water. The 
following spring, when the plants first come 
up, soak well with the bordeaux mixture. 
Repeat in three weeks and again three weeks 
later. 



Tools and Implements Necessary 
for the Garden Work 

(These tools may be obtained at the seed stores) 

A two wheeled hand cart. 

Large wheel barrow with movable sides. 

Small low wheel barrow. 

Cultivator with all the different implements. 

Wheel hoe with drill and seeder. 

Barrel on the wheel for spraying and watering. 

Hand pump. 

Small hose. 

Plough. 

Spading forks, large and small. 
Small spade. 

Rake and hoe combined, six inches. 
Bow headed iron rake, sixteen inches. 
Light iron rake, ten inches. 
Wooden rake. 
Trowel. 

Short handled fork. 

Small three pronged fork on long handle. 

Hoe. 

Pick ax. 

Adze. 

Bush hook. 

165 



166 



Every Day in My Garden 



Sickle. 

Scythe and stone. 

Marker for vegetable bed. 

Marker with cord for borders. 

Sifter for soil and ashes. 

Plant duster. 

Syringe. 

Powder gun. 

Clippers for hedges. 

Clippers for grass border. 

Clippers for pruning. 

Knife. 

Dibble. 

Two-gallon watering pot with a rose and long 
spout. 

Four-gallon watering spout. 
Cedar posts eight feet long. 
Cedar or locust stakes, three feet six inchcvS 

and four feet six inches. 
Bamboo stakes. 
Wooden labels. 
RafTea, for tying. 
Coarse soft string. 
Wire cutter. 
Staples and nails. 
Wooden shutters for hot beds. 
Straw screens for hot beds. 



Mignonette as a Tree 



Buy a pot of ordinary mignonette. This 
pot will probably contain a tuft composed of 
many plants produced from seeds. Pull up 
all but one; and, as the mignonette is one 
of the most rustic of plants, which may be 
treated without any delicacy, the single plant 
that is left in the middle of the pot may be 
vigorously trimmed, leaving only one shoot. 
This shoot you must attach to a slender stick 
of white osier. The extremity of this shoot 
will put forth a bunch of flower-buds, that 
must be cut off entirely, leaving not a single 
bud. The stalk, in consequence of this treat- 
ment, will put out a multitude of young 
shoots that must be allowed to develop freely 
until they are about three inches and a half 
long. Then select of these four, six or eight, 
according to the strength of the plant, with 
equal spaces between them. Now, with a 
slender rod of white osier, or better, with a 
piece of whalebone, make a hoop and attach 
your shoots to it, supported at the proper 
height. When they have grown two or three 

inches longer, and are going to bloom, sup- 

167 



168 Rvery Day in My Garden 



port them by a second hoop like the first. 
Let them bloom ; but take off the seed pods 
before they have time to form, or the plant 
may perish. It will not be long before new 
shoots will appear just below the places where 
the flowers were. From among these new 
shoots, choose the one on each branch which 
is in the best situation to replace what you 
have nipped off. Little by little, the princi- 
pal stalk, and also the branches, will become 
woody, and your mignonette will no longer 
be an herbaceous plant, except at its upper 
extremities, which will bloom all the year 
without interruption. It will be truly a tree 
mignonette, living for an indefinite period; 
for, with proper treatment, a tree mignonette 
will live twelve to fifteen years. I have seen 
them in Holland double this age. — A news- 
paper clipping of about 1860. 



INDEX 



Annuals 115, 128, 137, 160 

Aphis 160, 161, 162 

Apples 124, 125 

Apple trees 9, 10 

Asparagus xvi, 28, 33, 69, 79, 85, 98, 140 

Asters 46, 51, 60, 65, 70, 72, 73, 80, 81. 86, 97, 159, 160 

Beans (Lima) 53. 58, 65, 68, 70 

Beans (String) 43. 52, 57- 65, 83 

Beets 39. 59; 125 

Berberies xviii 

Blackberries 30, 38, 82 

Blackcaps 38 

Blight, Mildew, Rust 157, 163 

Bluets 80 

Bon Arbor 156 

Bone Meal 157 

Bordeaux Mixture xii, 156 

Border or Edge xvii 

Box xvii, 43, 44, 143 

Brussels Sprouts 53. 72, 73» 84, 87, 95, 103, 139 

Bulbs 61, 125, 137, 149 

Cabbage, 23, 26, 29, 41, 43, 46, 53, 54, 55, 56, 65, 87, 72, 73, 74, 84, 87, 88 

[95, 103, 138, 140, 155, 156, 160 

Calendulas 46, 51 

Campanulas 46, 56, 65. 70, 72, 84, 108, 116, 136 

Canterbury Bells 26, 39, 46, 55, 56, 65, 70, 81, 84, 108 

Carrots 39. 59. 125 



Cauliflower, 23, 26, 29, 41, 43, 46, 53, 54, 55, 56, 65, 67, 72, 73, 74, 84, 87, 88 

[95. 103, 138, 140, 155, 156 

Celery 24, 58, 79. 80 83. 87, 95, 97, 129, 130 

169 



170 Every Day in My Garden 



Chrysanthemums xxiv, 46, 89, 97, 108, no, 115, 125, 142 

Clover xvi 

Coal Ashes 157 

Cockscombs 65, 72, 81, 86 

Columbine 137 

Compost 153 

Corn 41, 54, 55, 58, 61, 65, 67, 71, 74 

Cosmos xxiii, 46, 51, 82, 94 

Cottonseed Meal .157 

Crows 162 

Cucumbers 60, 67, 161 

Cultivation xi 

Currant Bushes 138 

Cutworms 161 

Dahlias 24, 44, 57, 65, 72, 79, 81, 86, 96, in, 115, 127 

Daffodils 150 

Daphnes 150 

Delphinium 39, 4^, 56, 65, 70, 72, 84, 87, 108, 123, 136, 163 

Dianthus 136 

Egg Plant 23, 57, 60, 67, 69, 71, 74, 80, 82, 85, 87, 95, 99, 102, no, 157 

Euonymus xvii 

Fertilizers 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 162 

Flats 14, 15, 155 

Flower Seed List 5 

Forget-me-not. . . , 46, 56, 137 

Foxgloves 26, 39, 46, 55, 56, 65, 84, 108, 136 

Fraxinella 73> 84 

Gladiolas 60 

Golden Glow 121 

Gooseberries 138 

Grape Vines 12, 85, 162 



Index 



171 



Hammond's Slugshot i6o 

Hedges 44 

Heliotrope 60, 65, 69, 72, 83, 86, 94, 102, 156 

Hellebore 157 

Hollyhocks 39» 4i, 45» 54, 66, 83, 84, 94 

Honeysuckle 13 

Hot-beds I5, 16, 114, 131 

Hyacinths 61, 150 

Hydrangeas 70, 82, 95, 100 

Implements for Garden 165 

Insecticides 156 

Iris 40, 122 



Labels 17 

Lawns 24, 29, 142, 159 

Lettuce 14, 23, 24, 29, 39, 45, 57, 68, 71, 121 

Lilies xxi, 38, 42, 55, 73, 83, 86, 137, 150 

Lily-of -the- Valley xxiii 

Lime 141 

Loam 154 

Marigolds. 46, 51, 66 

Manure Water .158 

Melons 60, 67, 161 

Mignonette 52, 60, 65, 86 

Mignonette Tree 167 

Mildew, Blight, Rust 163 

Myrtle xviii 

Nasturtiums 52, 79 

Nicotianas 51, 65, 86, 96 

Nitrate of Soda xi, 158, 159 

Nursery bed 159 



Okra . . 

Onions 



59 

39, 59, 112, 126 



172 Every Day in my Garden 



Onion Sets .....39 

Orchard, situation of xiii 

Pachysandra Terminalis xix, 32 

Pansies 51, 56, 57, 65, 69, 72, 83, 84, 86, 94, 108, 135, 156 

Paris Green 159 

Parsley 23, 54, 137 

Parsnips 39 

Peach Trees 3i» i39 

Peas 39, 45, 56, 95 

Peas, Sweet 79 

Peonies 40, 73, 98, loi, 122, 136 

Peppers 23, 57, 155 

Perennials 40, 121, 162 

Periwinkle xviii 

Petunias ^ 95, 69, 72, 83, 94, 102 

Plilox 39, 73, 83, 93, 121 

Planting xiii, 31 

Poppies, Oriental 73, 84, 137 

Poppies, Shirley 38, 122 

Potatoes 30, 39, 42, 51, 53, 60, 67, 70, 72, 123, 156, 157 

Potato Bugs 159 

Preparation of Soils 153 

Pruning xx, 9, 10, 12 

Pyrethrum 56, 70, 84, 108 

Raspberries , 82, 138 

Rhubarb 37, 38, 14a 

Ribbon Grass 83 

Root Cellars 141 

Roses, .xix, 26, 27, 30, 37, 40, 42, 44. 46, 57. 65, 68, 70, 72, 73, 81, 88, 93, 94 

[96, 109, 124, 125, 136, 156, 157, 159 

Rose Bugs ... i6q, 161 

Rust, Blight, Mildew 157, 163 

Rotten Sod. 153 



Index 



173 



Sage 23 

Salpiglossis 65, 66, 72. 81 

Salsify 39, 59, 126 

Salt 141, 154, 161 

Saltpetre 160 

Sand 154 

Seeds, Flower , 5 

Seeds, Vegetable 3 

Sheep Manure 160 

Shrubs 13, 24, 113, 125, 162 

Snapdragons 57. 60, 65, 66, 70, 72, 81, 86, 96, 136 

Soap 160 

Soils 14, 153 

Soot and Sulphur 161 

Spinach 39, 83, 139 

Sprays xx 

Squash 51 

Strawberries xvi, 33, 38, 41, 58, 79, 82, 85 

Succession of Crops xii 

Sulphur and Wood Ashes i6i 

Sultanas 51 

Sweet Alyssum 46, 52, 86 

Sweet Peas xix, 38 

Tap Root xiv 

Tar 162 

Thyme 23, 60 

Tobacco Wate 162 

Tomatoes 24, 57, 58, 60, 70, 73, 156 

Tools for Garden 165 

Tree Planting xiv, xv, 125, 139 

Vegetable Beds 141 

Vegetable Seeds 23 

Verbenas 65, 70, 96, 156, 160 

Vines 162 



174 



Every Day in My Garden 



Watering xix 

Wood Ashes 162 

Whale Oil Soap 161 

Zinnias 5i> 66 



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